Kawasaki 10W-40, 2011 Ninja 1000, 388 miles

[jsharp]

Here's the first UOA from my new Ninja 1000. This is factory fill from Kawasaki and I was told it was 10W-40.

This bike was built 09/10 and was in the distribution system until it showed up at the dealer in February. I bought it in the middle of March. It had .1 miles showing when I took it for a test ride and it went home with me the next day.

This doesn't look like it's anything special. If it really was a 10W-40 it's amazing how fast these things shear oil down. I'm not too worried about any of the numbers. I'd expect them to look like this with so few miles. The fuel dilution did surprise me though since I rode it almost an hour before I took the sample and the oil was hot. I can only assume it's because most of the riding I've done so far has been in cold weather.

I refilled it with Rotella 15W-40 and used a Wix filter. I'll run that 1000-1500 miles and change it again. At that point it'll get Amsoil MCF.

Comments welcome!

 

[dtt004]

ZX-10R? haha awesome! I have a 2004 ZX-10R.

How long did you run the initial oil? Also, when you bought it, did you run it hard? I always break in my vehicles (the motorcycle too) the same way; very hard driving at varying engine speeds.

The oil shears down quickly because of the nature of the engine (higher speed) and the fact that the engine oil is also the gearbox oil.

Right now I have Mobil Delvac 1300 15W-40. I change it every year, runs fine. I have used Rotella...perfectly fine. In my opinion, Amsoil is good oil, but I didn't notice a benefit or a detriment when running it. You should try and see if you like it. Diesel oils run great for the bike in my opinion.

I also race/track with the same oil. The shifting feel is excellent.

 

[jsharp]

Not a ZX-10R. It's a 2011 Ninja 1000, basically a Z1000 with more bodywork. My old body just won't fold onto a 10R anymore.

This bike has a much more relaxed riding position that I can deal with and the engine has power characteristics that are more street oriented.

That was 388 miles on the initial fill as it came from the dealer. When I called they claimed it was 10W-40 factory fill.

Lets just say it's been 'loaded' but not repeatedly run hard to redline. I've kept the RPM a little lower and varied the load and speed fairly often. Probably not a lot different than how it'll get ridden once it's broken in other than the RPM ceiling.

The Rotella I put in shifts as well and the factory fill. We'll see how it is after some miles. I got a deal on the Amsoil MCF which is why I thought I'd run it when I dump the Rotella.

I'm sure your ZX-10R is fun. I've heard the 2004 models in particular described as the most raw of the liter class sport bikes. Little flywheel and lots of power up high. One guy said he felt lucky to come back alive after riding one.

 

[paulswagelock]

Surprised by the high Moly on a wet clutch application. I thought the Jaso specs required no friction modifiers?

 

[jsharp]

Any number of M/C oils have moly. I believe the specs call for certain frictional characteristics. I don't think it matters how you get there.

 

[whitesands]

Nice bike! looking at the factory fill additive levels it looks like it could pass for Castrol GTX.

 

[jsharp]

Thanks!

I don't recognize the signature but I haven't really kept up. The oil had a greenish color when I drained it. GTX with green coloring for Kawasaki?

I was surprised when the dealer told me it was factory fill. I assumed the bikes were shipped over dry and the dealer did the first fill.

 

[rprx]

Thanks for the post, I think it looks pretty good for a FF. You said you rode it for an hour - sedately?
I think you will see good results with Amsoil's 10W40 in your Kawasaki - it's all I use in my two wheelers.

 

[jsharp]

It's new so I haven't been hammering it too hard.

The oil was definitely hot when I drained it. I noticed today the Rotella it has now is already black in the sight window. That and my not so stellar 37 MPG fuel economy makes I wonder if the fuel map isn't a bit rich. I'll know more with the next analysis. Hopefully I won't see 2%+ fuel dilution again after all warm weather riding.

 

[whitesands]

Originally Posted By: jsharp
Thanks!

I don't recognize the signature but I haven't really kept up. The oil had a greenish color when I drained it. GTX with green coloring for Kawasaki?


Not that the oil was Castrol GTX, but similar in quality to an oil like GTX...I'm currently running Rotella 15W40 in my Bandit 1250...Been running it for almost 25,000 miles with no problems...There's a fellow on the forums I frequent with the older air cooled bandit with over 100,000 miles on his running nothing but Rotella....Good oil I figure!

 

[Norm Olt]

Still get 40+ mpg in the old '93 ZX-11D, running regular gas through carbs...

Maybe fuel injection just isn't all it's cracked up to be? Or, maybe, just maybe, your bike is not broken in as yet?

I'm sure you'll enjoy it: I considered one but figure the ZX-11 ought to be good for another 30K and another decade, or so.

Cheers!

p.s. On topic, AMSOIL AME 15W-40 is probably the lesat expensive way to go if they still sell it in the gallon jugs. I've used the 10W-40 & 20W-50 products with great success over the years in this bike.

 

[jsharp]

I have enough Amsoil MCF for a couple of changes but I think I'm going to dump the Rotella 15W-40 at 2K miles and refill it with the same for a few thousand more miles. Then I'll switch to the Amsoil.

The Rotella is so cheap a person can afford to change it pretty often.